The present invention relates to a mounting device for panel elements, especially for buildings, and including at least two spaced, substantially parallel mounting bars, which are mounted on the surface to be covered by the panel elements and which are arranged to carry at least one retaining member each, and mounting ribs which are connected to the panel elements and cooperate with the retaining members, said mounting ribs preferably extending across the panel elements and being arranged at an angle relative to the mounting bars and having a cross section enabling the retaining members to cooperate with any portion of the mounting rib to retain the same.
In many cases it is desirable to mount panel elements on a surface, e.g. a facade of a building in connection with construction or renovation of the facade, possible together with additional insulation. For this purpose elements of different shapes and different materials, e.g. plastics, steel, aluminum alloys or the like, are used. A usual way to mount these elements is to arrange mounting bars on the supporting surface, whereupon the elements are mounted to the mounting bars by means of separate anchoring means. Alternatively the mounting bars are provided with stationary hooks, on which the elements are supported, the elements usually being connected to each other by means of further hooks. In this last mentioned type of device it is required in order to obtain a satisfactory result that the mounting bars are aligned very carefully, both relative to the supporting surface and relative to each other. Also when using separate anchoring means special care is to be taken when flat or sheet shaped elements are to be mounted, when the mounting bars must be adjusted relative to the edges of the elements, where the anchoring means are applied. Naturally, this is both time-consuming and expensive.
Another disadvantage of previously known systems for mounting of panel elements is that the distance between the anchoring means or the hooks cannot be increased above a predetermined value unless the panel elements, especially if they are made of sheet metal, are provided with some form of further stiffening means or, if the elements are of a flat type, the thickness is increased. In order to increase the distance between the anchoring means it is therefore necessary to increase the amount of material in the panel elements, which naturally means increased costs.